Brandon Everage, a safety on Oklahoma's 2000 national championship team, drowned while swimming in a Texas river. He was 30.

Milam County Sheriff David Greene said in a news release that authorities were called to the Little River in the western part of the county on Friday evening. Friends said they had been swimming when Everage, a Granger resident, went under water and didn't surface. A dive team recovered his body Saturday morning.

Everage was a reserve on Oklahoma's 2000 national championship team and a starter on the 2003 team that had a shot at the BCS title before losing to LSU in the Sugar Bowl.

Everage was a second-team All-American in 2002, when he had 94 tackles, six interceptions and three sacks. He was chosen as a semifinalist for the Jim Thorpe Award, given each year to college football's top defensive back.

As a senior, he had 60 tackles while starting the final 12 games at free safety for the Sooners, including the 21-14 loss to LSU in the Sugar Bowl with the BCS title on the line. He was not drafted and didn't play in the NFL.